Anointing - Afrikaans

April 1, 2025

DIE SALWING.

Hier word gekyk na die aansprake van verskillende groepe met betrekking tot hulle pogings om herlewing en die meegaande geestelike salwing te weeg te bring, en die Bybelse standaard waardeur ‘n salwing en ‘n herlewing werklik funksioneer.



--Handelinge 2:1-47--:

“En toe die dag van die pinksterfees aangebreek het, was hulle almal eendragtig bymekaar. En daar kom skielik uit die hemel 'n geluid soos van 'n geweldige rukwind, en dit het die hele huis gevul waar hulle gesit het. Toe is deur hulle tonge gesien soos van vuur, wat hulleself verdeel en op elkeen van hulle gaan sit. En hulle is almal vervul met die Heilige Gees en het begin spreek in ander tale, soos die Gees aan hulle gegee het om uit te spreek.

En daar het in Jerusalem Jode gewoon, godsdienstige manne, uit elke nasie wat onder die hemel is. En toe hierdie geluid kom, het die menigte saamgestroom en was in die war, want elkeen het gehoor hoe hulle in sy eie taal spreek; en hulle was almal verbaas en verwonderd en sê vir mekaar: Is almal wat daar spreek, dan nie Galileërs nie? En hoe hoor ons hulle, elkeen in ons eie taal waarin ons gebore is?

Parthers en Meders en Elamiete en die inwoners van Mesopotámië, Judéa en Kappadócië, Pontus en Asië, Frigië en Pamfílië, Egipte en die streke van Líbië by Ciréne, en Romeine wat hier vertoef, Jode en Jodegenote, Kretense en Arabiere--ons hoor hulle in ons eie taal oor die groot dade van God spreek. En hulle was almal verbaas en radeloos en sê die een vir die ander: Wat kan dit tog wees? Maar ander het gespot en gesê: Hulle is vol soetwyn.

Maar Petrus het opgestaan met die elf en sy stem verhef en hulle toegespreek: Joodse manne en almal wat in Jerusalem woon, dit moet julle weet, en luister na my woorde. Hierdie mense is tog nie dronk soos julle dink nie, want dit is nog maar die derde uur in die môre.

Maar dit is wat deur die profeet Joël gespreek is: En in die laaste dae, spreek God, sal Ek van my Gees uitstort op alle vlees, en julle seuns en julle dogters sal profeteer, en julle jongelinge sal gesigte sien, en julle ou mense sal drome droom. En ook op my diensknegte en diensmaagde sal Ek in dié dae van my Gees uitstort, en hulle sal profeteer.

En Ek sal wonders gee bo in die hemel en tekens onder op die aarde, bloed en vuur en rookdamp. Die son sal verander in duisternis en die maan in bloed voordat die groot en deurlugtige dag van die Here kom. En elkeen wat die Naam van die Here aanroep, sal gered word.

Israeliete, luister na hierdie woorde! Jesus, die Nasaréner, 'n man deur God vir julle aangewys met kragte en wonders en tekens wat God deur Hom onder julle gedoen het, soos julle ook self weet-- Hom, wat deur die bepaalde raad en voorkennis van God oorgelewer is, het julle deur die hande van goddelose manne geneem en gekruisig en omgebring; Hom het God opgewek, nadat Hy die smarte van die dood ontbind het, omdat dit onmoontlik was dat Hy daardeur vasgehou sou word. Want Dawid sê van Hom: Ek het die Here altyddeur voor My gesien, want Hy is aan my regterhand, dat Ek nie sou wankel nie. Daarom is my hart bly en my tong juig, ja, ook sal my vlees nog rus in hoop.

Want U sal my siel nie aan die doderyk oorlaat of u Heilige oorgee om verderwing te sien nie. U het My die weë van die lewe bekend gemaak, U sal My vervul met vreugde by u aangesig.

Broeders, ek kan vry-uit met julle spreek oor die aartsvader Dawid, dat hy gesterf het en ook begrawe is, en sy graf is by ons tot vandag toe. Omdat hy dan 'n profeet was en geweet het dat God vir hom met 'n eed gesweer het dat hy uit die vrug van sy lendene, wat die vlees betref, die Christus sou verwek om op sy troon te sit,--het hy, omdat hy dit vooruit gesien het, gespreek van die opstanding van Christus, dat sy siel nie in die doderyk verlaat is en sy vlees ook nie verderwing gesien het nie.

Hierdie Jesus het God opgewek, waarvan ons almal getuies is. Nadat Hy dan deur die regterhand van God verhoog is en van die Vader die belofte van die Heilige Gees ontvang het, het Hy dít uitgestort, wat julle nou sien en hoor. Want Dawid het nie in die hemele opgevaar nie, maar hy self sê:

Die Here het gespreek tot my Here: Sit aan my regterhand totdat Ek u vyande gemaak het 'n voetbank van u voete. Laat dan die hele huis van Israel sekerlik weet dat God Hom Here en Christus gemaak het, hierdie Jesus wat julle gekruisig het. Toe hulle dit hoor, is hulle diep in die hart getref en het vir Petrus en die ander apostels gesê: Wat moet ons doen, broeders?

En Petrus sê vir hulle: Bekeer julle, en laat elkeen van julle gedoop word in die Naam van Jesus Christus tot vergewing van sondes, en julle sal die gawe van die Heilige Gees ontvang.

Want die belofte kom julle toe en julle kinders en almal wat daar ver is, die wat die Here onse God na Hom sal roep. En met baie ander woorde het hy hulle besweer en vermaan en gesê: Laat julle red uit hierdie verkeerde geslag. Die wat toe sy woord met blydskap aangeneem het, is gedoop; en daar is op dié dag omtrent drie duisend siele toegebring.

En hulle het volhard in die leer van die apostels en in die gemeenskap en in die breking van die brood en in die gebede. En vrees het op elkeen gekom, en baie wonders en tekens het deur die apostels plaasgevind. En almal wat gelowig geword het, was bymekaar, en het alles gemeenskaplik besit.

En hulle eiendomme en besittings het hulle verkoop en die opbrings onder almal verdeel, volgens wat elkeen nodig gehad het.

En dag vir dag het hulle eendragtig volhard in die tempel en van huis tot huis brood gebreek en hulle voedsel met blydskap en eenvoudigheid van hart geniet, terwyl hulle God geprys het en in guns was by die hele volk. En die Here het daagliks by die gemeente gevoeg die wat gered is.

Gering en Wagtend, Verraad en Vrees.

En op Pinkster dag word die Boek Rut in die sinagoges gelees, die verhaal van ‘n Joodse man wat met ‘n Heidense bruid getrou het. Dit is die Joodse Fees van Weke- ‘Hag Shavu’ot in Levitikus 23. Dit is die tweede gedeelte van die Pelgrim feeste wanneer die Jode van oor die wêreld sal kom om hierdie fees te vier en die Boek Rut in die sinagoges gelees sal word.

Hierdie spesifieke Pinkster dag was ‘n dag enig in sy soort, in hierdie tyd daar was daar ‘n baie klein kerkie wat bestaan het uit ‘n baie klein groepie mense uit die Joodse populasie wat in die land Israel gewoon het, ongeveer vyf honderd toegewyde volgers van Jesus, en ons kan net van 120 van hulle seker wees wat werklik toegewyd was. Soos wat die lyne al dunner en dunner geword het, het die sirkels konsentries begin krimp: ons het die apostels, die sewentig, die honderd en twintig en dan die ongeveer vyf honderd- ‘n baie klein kerkie.

Maar die kerk op Pinkster dag was ‘n kerk wat gewag het vir iets om te gebeur, hulle het gewag vir ‘n salwing (In Hebreeus ‘mishchah’ en in Grieks- ‘chrisma’) Dit was ‘n kerk wat gewag het vir ‘n salwing maar dit was ook ‘n kerk wat verraai is deur een van hulle eie mense, nie deur ‘n vyand wat voorgegee het dat hy ‘n vriend was nie, maar deur een van hulle eie mense.

Soos wat Judas in die Ou Testamentiese profete beskryf word, haal Jesus aan: “Selfs die man wat met my in vrede lewe, op wie ek vertrou het, wat my brood eet, het die hakskeen teen my opgelig.” (Ps. 41:9; Joh. 13:18). Judas was geken as ‘n vriend van die Here.

Daar is twee soorte mense wat baie na aan die Here Jesus gaan wees, dit is mense wat Hom werklik liefhet en mense wat teruggeval het. Dit is wat met die Laaste Nagmaal gebeur het. Aan die eenkant was die apostel wat Jesus liefgehad het en op die sy bors gelê het, maar aan die ander kant was daar Judas, Jesus sal altyd die 99 laat staan en agter die een aangaan.

Teruggevalle en heilige Christene het iets gemeen. ‘n teruggevalle mens word gedurig deur die Heilige Gees herinner om tot bekering te kom, om terug te draai na Jesus. Jesus verlaat nie teruggevalle mense nie, dit is teruggevalle mense wat Jesus verlaat. Met die Nagmaal het Jesus aan Judas ‘n ere plek gegee, Hy gee vir hom die geweekte brood, ‘n teken van aanvaarding en ‘n ernstige versoek om tot bekering te kom.

Maar hoog heilige Christene het dieselfde soort probleem, hulle is ook baie naby aan Jesus, maar hoe nader iemand aan die Lig kom hoe meer word hy bewus van die vuil dinge tot in die kleinste vorm om hom wat ander mense nie kan sien nie. Hoog heilige Christene het gewoonlik nie ‘n hoë dunk van hulleself nie omdat hulle te naby aan Jesus is om so mislei te word. Die vroeë kerk was egter deur een van hulle eie mense verraai, een van die leiers wat deur die Here Self uitgekies was.

Die tweede karaktertrekke van hierdie kerk is dat dit ‘n klein presentasie van die Joodse bevolking was en dit is waaroor hulle so bang was. Die leiers was bang, Jesus het vir hulle gesterf, Hy het vir hulle ‘n belofte gegee, maar Sy leiers is vreesbevange, hulle was ‘n bitter klein groepie. Die ander mense was vasgevang in hulle eie godsdienste. Die Kerk was egter nog nie gesalf nie en ook nog verraai en hulle was bang, ‘n kragtelose kerk, sonder salwing en uitverkoop, maar toe gebeur iets dramaties.

Die Uitstorting van die Gees.

Ons moet die Joodse agtergrond van ‘Hag Shavu’ot’ verstaan. Dit begin met; “Ek sal uitgiet”. Verskillende vloeistowwe verteenwoordig die Heilige Gees in verskillend aspekte.

“Nuwe Wyn” in aanbidding is die vreugde van die Gees. Olie- “Shemen” in Hebreeus- is die salwing van die Gees. Maar die idee van reënwater- vars en skoon water wat uitgegiet word is: “chay mayim” -

-“Lewende water” In Johannes 4 sê Jesus: “Ek sal vir jou lewende water gee.” (Joh. 4:10-14) Maar in Johannes 7:39 sê die Here wat lewende water is: “En dit het Hy gesê van die Gees wat dié sou ontvang wat in Hom glo;” Verskillende vloeistowwe leer ons van verskillende aspekte van die Heilige Gees.

Hierdie reën wys op die uitstorting van die Heilige Gees, die hele idee kom uit verskeie Ou Testamentiese Skrifte en een is Jes. 44:3: “Want Ek sal water giet op die dorsland en strome op die droë grond; Ek sal my Gees op jou kroos giet en my seën op jou nakomelinge.” Die uitstorting van water het te doen met die uitstorting van die Heilige Gees.

In Israel het ons die vroeë en die laat reëns, dit kom ooreen met die uitstorting van die Heilige Gees in die begin en die einde van die Kerk. Die resultaat daarvan is die Lente reën wat die Lente oes voorberei en die herfs reën wat die herfs oes berei. Dit het ‘n geestelike ekwivalente.

Die Rabi’s vertel dat die Tora- die Wet – aan Moses gegee was op die dieselfde fees, die Fees van Weke of die Pinkster Fees, maar daar is ‘n verskil, toe die Wet aan Moses op die Berg Sinai gegee is het daar 3000 geval, maar op dieselfde fees toe die Heilige Gees gegee is het 3000 tot redding gekom. Genade is groter as die vloek van die Wet; die een maak die ander uitgedien. Die gemeenskap was onder ‘n vloek maar die uitstorting van die Heilige Gees het die Krag om die vloek te breek en om ‘n oes te gee.

Maar Wie word Gesalf?

Wie word gesalf, is dit die Kerk? Nee! Dit is nie die Kerk nie. Kyk na Hand. 2:32-36:

“Hierdie Jesus het God opgewek, waarvan ons almal getuies is. Nadat Hy dan deur die regterhand van God verhoog is en van die Vader die belofte van die Heilige Gees ontvang het, het Hy dít uitgestort, wat julle nou sien en hoor. Want Dawid het nie in die hemele opgevaar nie, maar hy self sê: Die Here het gespreek tot my Here: sit aan my regterhand totdat Ek u vyande gemaak het 'n voetbank van u voete. Laat dan die hele huis van Israel sekerlik weet dat God Hom Here en Christus gemaak het, hierdie Jesus wat julle gekruisig het.”

Die Here Jesus was gesalf, nie die Kerk nie! Petrus verwys na Psalm 133. Om Pinkster te verstaan lees Psalm 133-.

'n Bedevaartslied. Van Dawid. Kyk, hoe goed en hoe lieflik is dit dat broers ook saamwoon! Dit is soos die kosbare olie op die hoof, wat afloop op die baard, die baard van Aäron, wat afloop op die soom van sy klere.” (Ps. 133:1-2)

Aäron is die Hoë Priester. Hebreërs sê vir ons dat Aäron die Hoë Priester ‘n simbool van Jesus is. In die Brief aan die Hebreërs is Jesus ons Hoë Priester. Die olie word deur Moses op Aäron se hoof uitgegiet en dit vloei van sy hoof af oor sy liggaam- oor sy skouers, sy arms, bors en oor sy voete. Om olie op ons hande, skouers, bors en voete te kry moet ons onder die hoof wees.

Een van die redes waarom die liggaam van Christus vandag nie meer gesalf is nie is omdat dit nie onder die Hoofskap van Christus is nie maar onder die hoofskap van die mens. Ons kan ‘n baie handige hand hê, goeie voete, maar dit is nutteloos as dit nie aan ‘n liggaam gebonde is nie, en die liggaam is nutteloos as dit nie onder die hoof staan nie. Die salwing is op die Here Jesus uitgestort en as die Liggaam van Christus nie onder Sy Hoofskap is nie- gaan dit nie gesalf word nie.

Eenheid in die Gees.

Maar daar is iets anders. Wat het gebeur nadat die Kerk Gesalf was? Hulle was soos een, eens in hulle denke, een in die gees. Wat sê Psalm 133? Vers 1: “Kyk, hoe goed en hoe lieflik is dit dat broers ook saamwoon! Hier word gepraat van die eenheid van die Gees, as daar nie eenheid van die Gees is nie sal daar ook nie ‘n salwing wees nie. Een rede waarom daar vandag nie ‘n salwing in die Liggaam van Christus is nie is omdat daar nie ‘n eenheid van die Gees is nie, daar is ‘n eenheid van mense ja.

In Hebreeus is die Heilige Gees- “Ruach Qodesh”— die Gees van Heiligheid. Daar kan geen eenheid in die Gees wees as daar nie heiligheid is nie. Ek glo aan die Gawes van die Gees, maar dit is ook een van my mees algemene klagtes en dit is dat die vlak van vleeslikheid en ‘n wêreld gesindheid onder Pinkster en Charismate baie hoër is as onder die Baptiste of die Plymouth Broeders of die fundamentaliste.

Van al die kerke in die Bybel was dit nie die wettiese of die nomialistiese Galate, of die deurmekaar Thessalonicense wat deur die Heilige Gees aangekla was nie, dit was die Charismatiese Korintiërs. Vandag is dit dieselfde, as daar nie heiligheid is nie dan is daar ook nie ‘n eenheid in die Gees nie.

Die eerste gebod is:

“Jy mag geen ander gode (vreemde gode) voor my aangesig hê nie.” (Ex. 20:3)

En die tweede gebod in die oorspronklike Hebreeus is: “Jy mag vir jou geen gesnede beeld of enige gelykenis maak van wat bo in die hemel is, of van wat onder op die aarde is, of van wat in die waters onder die aarde is nie.--” (Ex. 20:4-5)

In Engeland is daar baie wedergebore Christene wat gered is uit ‘n Roomse Katolieke agtergrond, hulle het die waarheid van die Evangelie gesien, hulle het gesien dat dit waarin hulle opgegroei het en wat hulle geglo het nie dit was wat Jesus geleer het nie. Wanneer iemand hom neerbuig voor ‘n standbeeld en kerse opsteek en vir die dooies bid- word dit in Hebreeus gesien as ‘n vrypostige (bose) gees gesindheid, ‘n uitvoering van heksery, towery, ‘n veragtelike gruwelike sonde.

Om vir iemand in die waan van ‘n Christelike eenheid te vertel hy kan met so ‘n sonde lewe, is dieselfde as om vir ‘n homoseksueel te sê hy kan gered word en homoseksueel bly, of om vir alkoholis te sê hy kan gered word en bly drink! Dit is egter presies wat gebeur.

Daar is geen salwing nie omdat om gesalf te wees beteken om onder Hoofskap van Christus te wees, nie die hoofskap van mense wat dinge leer wat Jesus nie geleer het nie.

Tweedens, die liggaam moet eensgesind wees; eenheid van die Gees is die Gees van Heiligheid. As daar openlik sedeloosheid bestaan, openlike afgodery wat in die naam van ‘n Christelike eenheid bedryf word- dan is daar ‘n groot probleem.

Ek het ‘n boek gelees deur- “Right Honorable George Carey”. (Wat reg en wat eerbaar is sal ek nie nou op ingaan nie, dit is nie my punt nie) Nie te min, die boek word genoem “The Meaning of Orders”, ‘n oproep deur hierdie man wat daarop aanspraak maak dat hy wedergebore is, om met die Roomse Kerk te verenig. Geredde mense wat goed weet dit beteken hulle het die enige ware kerk verlaat.

Daar word verkondig dat mense Hel toe gaan as hulle nie deur belydenis terugkeer na moeder Rome toe nie. Van die Protestante kan ons dit verstaan, hulle weet nie beter nie. So, aan die een kant vertel die kerk dat hulle Hel toe gaan omdat hulle die enigste ware kerk verlaat het terwyl aan die ander kant is kerkleiers van verskillende denominasies besig met ‘n her-vereniging met hierdie kerk en hulle afgodery. Dan vra ons hoekom is daar nie ‘n salwing nie?

Die Gees van Waarheid.

Maar Hy is nie net die Gees van Heiligheid nie, Hy is ook die Gees van Waarheid.

Daar is twee soorte skeidinge. Een soort skeiding is nie van God nie terwyl die ander soort skeiding ernstig van God is. Die soort skeiding wat nie van God is nie is die skeiding wat Bybelse gelowige Christene van mekaar skei. ‘n Skeiding wat van God is- is die skeiding van Bybelse gelowige Christene van diegene wat dit nie glo nie. En nog slegter, daar is mense wat sê hulle glo terwyl hulle lewe nie daarvan getuig nie. Hy is die Gees van Waarheid, Hy is nie die Gees van dwaling nie. Niemand kan die eenheid van die Gees bou op ‘n basis van dwaling nie.

Wanneer mense sê hulle is deur sakramente gered, dat vir die dooies gebid moet word, dat ons in die vae vuur kan gaan boete doen vir ons eie sonde, wanneer dit geleer word en ons sien wedergebore Christene leiers wat sê dit is reg ons kan ‘n eenheid vorm met hierdie mense, dan sien jy die gees van dwaling; dit is nie die Gees van Waarheid nie.

Paulus sê daar gaan verdeeldheid onder ons wees, dit is waar. (1Kor. 11:19) Daar is ‘n verdeeldheid wat van God is. Die Here Jesus sê:

“Dink julle dat Ek gekom het om vrede op die aarde te gee? Nee, sê Ek vir julle, maar eerder verdeeldheid.” (Luk. 12:51)

Ek sien dieselfde dinge in Ierland wat ek in Israel sien. Wanneer ‘n Jood tot redding kom word gesê: “Jy het jou mense verloën” - omdat Christenskap in die Joodse denke met anti-Semitisme en volksmoord en rasse uitwissing geassosieer word. “Jy het jou mense verraai, jy het deel geword van die mense wat ons voorouers uitgemoor het.” Wanneer ‘n Roomse Katoliek tot bekering kom gebeur dieselfde. “Jy het ‘n Protestant geword.” “Jy het deel geword van die mense wat die aartappel skaarste bewerk het, die oorlog misdade van Cromwell, die volksmoord van die Purityne-- die mense wat ons land verdeel het.” Hulle word gesien as verraaiers van hulle eie mense.

Dit is baie moeilik vir ‘n Jood wat tot bekering gekom het om aan sy familie die verskil tussen ‘n Bybelse gelowige Christen en dit wat sy familie dink wat ‘n Christen is- te verduidelik. Net so is dit baie moeilik vir ‘n Roomse Katoliek, spesifiek in Ierland, om die verskil tussen ‘n ware Christen en wat sy familie dink ‘n protestant is- te verduidelik.

Ek weet van ’n geval in Belfast waar ‘n Roomse Katolieke meisie in ‘n Assemblies of God- gemeente tot redding gekom het, ‘n Pinkster kerk, die priester het vir haar gesê as sy nie terugkeer na die ‘heilige moeder van die kerk’ nie, hy haar aan die IRL gaan uitlewer.

Hy is die Gees van Waarheid, Hy is nie die Gees van Dwaling nie. Niemand kan ‘n eenheid van die Gees op dwaling grondves nie. Ek praat nie van die sekondêre leerstellige dinge wat ons almal het nie. Ek praat van die belangrike dinge: Hoe ons gered is, die gesag van die Woord van God, die definisie van sonde.

As dit nie onder die Hoof is nie dan is daar geen salwing vir die Liggaam nie. En as die Liggaam nie in ‘n eenheid met die Gees is nie sal daar ook nie ‘n salwing wees nie.

Vandag is dit dieselfde.

Kyk na die Kerk van ons dag, wat het ons? Dieselfde wat ons op Pinkster gesien het.

In Engeland op ‘n gemiddelde Sondag gaan net 1,2% mense kerk toe en die meeste van hulle is Rooms Katolieke wat glo dit is ‘n sonde tot dood om ‘n R.K. Mis te mis. ‘n “Moeder Sondag- Herdenkings Sondag. Kersfees en ‘Easter’ in Engeland trek die statistiek op na 8%, maar die algemene gemiddeld is 1.2% per maand- en die meeste van hierdie mense is ongered.

Ons is ‘n baie klein minderheid, dieselfde wat op Pinkster met die eerste Christene gebeur het. Tweedens, ons het baie min werklike krag.

Derdens, ons is ook verraai, verraai deur diegene wat as ons leiers getel word.

Ek was altyd ‘n Baptis- ‘n Baptis wat glo aan die Gawes van die Gees, maar ek moes my kerk verlaat alhoewel my kerk agter my gestaan het- omdat die leierskap van die Baptiste Unie by die Ekumeniese beweging aangesluit het om deel te wees van die Roomse Katolieke kerk en die liberale Protestante kerke, dit is wat ek teengestaan het. Ek ken baie mense in die Baptiste kerk wat weet dit is verkeerd maar hulle is te bang om die basuin te blaas en om iets daaroor te sê.

Daar is ‘n organisasie-“The Church’s Ministry to the Jews”, Evangeliese Anglikane. Toe hulle te wete kom dat daar ‘n Evangeliese Aartsbiskop van Canterbury aangestel sou word was hulle baie bly, hulle het gedink:- “Dit is dit, ons het gewen! Halleluja!, dankie Here, vir ‘n getroue leier!” Hy het die Aartsbiskop van Canterbury geword.

Met ‘n radio onderhoud met die hoof rabbi het hy sy teenkanting teen die verkondiging van die Evangelie aan die Jode uitgespel, hy het sy beskermheer status van die kerk se bediening aan die Jode opgesê en so totaal teen alle rede gegaan waarom die Evangelie aan die Jode gebring moet word. Paulus sê die Evangelie is eerste vir die Jood en so ook die oordeel as hulle dit nie aanneem nie. (Rom. 1:16) Maar die Aartsbiskop sê nee! Nie eers ‘n liberaal sou nie so ver gegaan het nie. Dieselfde persoon skryf in sy boek ons moet terugkeer na Moeder Rome.

Ongeveer 2000 Evangeliese Anglikane het ‘n petisie geteken waar hy gevra is om die aanbidding van vreemde gode in Anglikaanse kerke soos die Canterbury Katedraal te stop waar daar Tibettanse monnike (Lamaniste Monnike wat glo dat die Dalai Lama die ‘n verpersoonliking van God is.) Afrika toordokters, Brahmaanse priesters van Hinduïsme, Moslem Imams, Ortodokse rabbi’s ens. saam met die Anglikaanse en Roomse Katolieke geestelikes in Canterbury Katedraal optree.

Nee, sê hierdie wedergebore Christen leier, “Ek respekteer alle gelowe.” In 1 Kor. 10 en Deuteronomium is ander gode duiwels (Gieks—“daiminoi”, Hebreeus- “Shedim” ) Dit is wat gerespekteer word, “ons respekteer alle godsdienste!” Hoekom is daar nie herlewing nie? Hoekom is daar geen salwing nie? Daar is ‘n soort eenheid. Dink daaraan, wat is besig om te gebeur?

In Engeland het twee uit drie mans onder 30 ‘n polisie rekord- ‘n kriminele klagstaat teen hulle.

Een uit elke drie! In die midde stede is dit een uit elke twee mans en in ander streke is dit meer as drie uit vier. Een derde van alle kinders word buite eglik gebore. In sekere gedeeltes van Liverpool is dit twee uit drie- en dit word sosiaal aanvaar!

Misdaad statistiek is deur die dak, in Engeland is daar oor die twee miljoen voertuig inbrake per jaar en dit groei teen 32% / jaar! Dit is wat daar gebeur. Die gemeenskap word in ‘n hoek gedryf. Maar die rede waarom dit met hulle gebeur is omdat die mense wat God geroep het om hierdie dinge te voorkom- nie gesalf is nie. Hoekom is hulle nie gesalf nie? Omdat hulle verraai is, omdat hulle bang is en omdat hulle nie saamstaan nie, daar is nie ‘n eenheid in Jesus nie.

Die weë van die Mens.

Baie mense kom met baie planne na vore om hierdie probleme aan te spreek. Geen regdenkende persoon sal by ‘n venster uitkyk en dink alles is reg is nie. Wigan het die beste rugby span in die wêreld. Niks verkeerd met rugby nie dis ‘n goeie spel, elke Sondag is die stadion vol gepak vir die spel, dis ‘n goeie spel maar dit is net ‘n spel en ‘n miljoen jaar na vandag gaan dit nie saak maak nie, maar die kinders in die stede en dorpe waarvan een uit elke drie in die tronk gaan beland, dit is hulle wat oor ‘n miljoen jaar gaan saak maak!

As daar ‘n “heavy metal” of ‘n ‘strip show’ of ‘n rock band optree wat openlik erken dat dit Satan aanbidding is- word al die kaartjies uitverkoop. En as daar ‘n kerkdiens gehou word waar die waarheid verdraai word en aanspraak gemaak word dat dit ‘n kerk is, is dit presies dieselfde as ‘n strip of rock show. Baie mense sal met baie verskillende idees probeer om hierdie salwing te bekom, wat hulle sê, ons almal nodig het.

Die Charismatiese Beweging in Engeland is ouer as twintig jaar, is daar enige salwing? Waar is die herlewing? Ek is gered met ‘n herlewing, ek het gesien wat herlewing is, ek het gesien hoe duisende hippies tot redding gekom het, mense het oornag radikaal onder die Krag van Jesus verander.

Met Wesley se herlewing in die noorde van Engeland het die gemeenskap radikaal verander, misdaad, sedeloosheid en sosiale ongeregtighede het radikaal verander.

Bouverenigings is oorval vir behuising vir werkers, skoolstelsel, geleerdheid vir die werkerklas het uit hulle nate gebars, dinge soos die Guardian nuusblad en werkers unies is ingestel om menseregte te beskerm, reformasie in gevangenisse en hospitale, slawerny is opgeskort, kinderarbeid is opgeskort (Vier jaar oue kinders wat in Wallis en Newcastle in die myne gewerk het) Dinge wat lewens onder die Krag van Jesus verander het. Dit is Herlewing!

As jy vandag herlewing wil sien, gaan na Koria, Kenia, Brasilië, Indunesië. Maar as jy ‘n lyk wil sien, kom na Westerse wêreld. Kyk na die karaktertrekke.

Gesalf vir Begrafnis.

Lering in die Bybel, in die oorspronklike Grieks is: “didaskein” (Soos Bybel studie) Iets wat “homilia”genoem word (soos in preek) en iets wat geken word as “kerygma”, wat die prediking van die Evangelie is- hoofsaaklik aan die ongereddes.

Dit is Petrus se kerugma, en hy begin praat oor Jesus uit twee aspekte: Die lydendende Jesus wat gekruisig is, en die oorwinnende Jesus wat heers. Dit kom direk uit Judaïsme: “HaMashiach ben Jozef” en “HaMashiach ben David”: Die Messias as die Seun van Josef en die Messias as die Seun van Dawid. Eerstens het Jesus gekom as ‘n lydende dienskneg soos Josef, maar as Hy weer kom, kom Hy as ‘n oorwinnende Koning, soos Dawid.

Met Jesus se eerste koms het Hy gekom as ‘n lydende dienskneg; wanneer Hy weer kom om Sy Millennium Heerskappy op te rig dan is Hy die oorwinnende Koning- soos Dawid. Met ander woorde, voordat Jesus gesalf was om te heers is Hy gesalf vir ‘n begrafnis.

“Want dit het Hom betaam, ter wille van wie alle dinge en deur wie alle dinge is, as Hy baie kinders na die heerlikheid wou bring, om die bewerker van hulle saligheid deur lyde te volmaak.” (Heb. 2:10)

Jesus het nie nodig gehad om te ly nie, hy het nie ‘n gevalle natuur gehad waarmee God moes deel nie maar hy het ‘n proses deurgegaan wat teoloë ‘kenosis’ noem, en Hy identifiseer Homself met ons alhoewel Hy geen sonde gehad het nie. Vir ons onthalwe het Hy Homself in ‘n posisie geplaas waar God Hom moes vervolmaak deur om Hom te laat ly as ‘n voorbeeld vir ons en om die oorwinning vir ons aan die kruis te behaal.

Voordat Jesus vir heersing gesalf is- is Hy gesalf vir ‘n begrafnis; voordat die Kerk gesalf kan word om te heers moet sy gesalf word vir haar begrafnis. Dit is dus baie maklik om te sien hoekom al hierdie, miskien goedbedoelde (maar onskriftuurlike ) formules vir salwing nie werk nie.

Vandag na meer as vyf en twintig jaar van die Charismatiese Beweging, kan ons sê dat skole beter af is? Is daar minder misdaad? Homoseksualiteit? Egskeidings? Rassisme en haat, sosiale ongeregtigheid? Het lewens verander? Is daar minder seksuele kindermisdade? Gaan meer mense kerk toe? Nee! Daar is baie meer!

Wat kan ons na vyf en twintig jaar wys? Absoluut niks! Afval ja! Ek onthou hoe mense gepraat het van ‘n Charismatiese Hernuwing eenheid, maar was dit ‘n eenheid van die Gees? “Dit maak nie saak in wat se kerk jy is, of wat jou kerk glo nie, as jy ‘n Roomse Katoliek wil wees en vir die dooies wil bid, is dit reg, glo soos jy wil!”

Geen Salwing.

Dan is daar die Noem dit, Raam dit en Eis dit- mense: Voorspoed Geloof- dit is die sleutel! Kyk na Amerika, al sleutel wat hulle vandag het is die sleutel wat hulle in die tronk toesluit (Baie is al reeds gevang, die ander moet nog inkom) Hierdie mense het van wedergeboorte ‘n algemene grap gemaak, tot vandag toe. Voorspoed geloof beweer dit is die geloof wat ‘n salwing te weeg bring. “Glo net broeder, steek jou hand uit en eis dit in die geloof!”

Wel, as jy iets van geloof wil weet, lees Hebreërs 11: Vers 36-40:

“Ander weer het die proef van bespottinge en geselinge deurstaan, ook van boeie en gevangenis.” (“Glo God vir daardie Cadillac broeder, glo God en jy sal ryk word, jou besigheid sal blom! Jou kerk gaan uit sy nate bars!”)

Hulle is gestenig, in stukke gesaag, versoek, deur die swaard vermoor. Hulle het rondgeloop in skaapvelle en in bokvelle; hulle het gebrek gely, hulle is verdruk, mishandel—

(Hoekom? Was dit as gevolg van hulle geloof? )

-- die wêreld was hulle nie werd nie--hulle het in woestyne rondgedwaal en op berge en in spelonke en skeure in die grond. En alhoewel hulle almal deur die geloof getuienis ontvang het, het hulle die belofte nie verkry nie, omdat God iets beters oor ons beskik het, sodat hulle nie sonder ons volmaak sou word nie.”

Hierdie mense was uitgeworpe en verarm, siek, niks werd nie- hulle geloof het hulle nie ryk gemaak nie maar brand arm! Hulle het geen hoop gehad in hierdie wêreld nie, maar hulle hoop was gevestig op dit wat gaan kom. Ek sê nie ons moet God vertrou vir armoede nie, maar ons moet God in armoede en in rykdom vertrou.

Hierdie Christene beweer hulle sogenaamde Voorspoed Geloof is die sleutel na die salwing terwyl hulle nie die leer van Christus verkondig nie maar ‘n geloof in geloof.

Gesalf vir heersing? Ja, maar eers gesalf vir ‘n begrafnis.

Denkbeelde van die Mens.

Ek het baie besighede in Engeland en die Amerikaanse kus sien ondergaan, Christene wat probeer het om staande bly wat deur hierdie mense mislei is met die idee van: “Skryf ‘n tjek vir 500 en God sal dit seën en dit vir jou dubbeld terug gee!”-en hulle het dit gedoen. Nou, as God vir jou sê om ‘n tjek vir 500 of 5000- uit te skryf dan doen jy dit- as God dit gesê het- en nie die een of ander geld prediker nie. Die Charismatiese Beweging het baie dinge belowe wat nie gebeur het nie. Hoekom nie? Dit is nie Skriftuurlik nie- daarom is daar ook nie ‘n salwing nie.

Die Voorspoed Geloof Beweging het dinge belowe wat nie gebeur het nie, moenie my glo nie, gaan praat met een van die duisende Christene wat hulle besighede, huise en werk verloor het. Hoekom? Dit is nie Skriftuurlik nie, daarom is daar nie ‘n salwing nie.

Maar die mees patetiese van al hierdie mense en hulle mens gemaakte idees vir ‘n salwing (eintlik twee) is die Restourasie Beweging. Om iets te restoureer moet dit eerstens bestaan om mee te begin. Hierdie beweging het in die laat sestigs begin met Arthur Wallace, hy het baie goeie ding gesê alhoewel baie van dit onskriftuurlik en verkeerd was. Die beweging het vir ongeveer 16 jaar geblom en waar is die herlewing? Hulle kon geen herlewing bring nie omdat hulle probeer het om iets te restoureer wat nooit bestaan het nie.

Eerstens is dit nie die Apostoliese Gesag van die Nuwe Testament nie maar hulle eie weergawe van die Apostoliese gesag. Wat hulle Apostoliese gesag noem is iets wat geken word as swaarhand leiers wat nie in die Nuwe Testament bestaan nie. Hulle het probeer om iets te restoureer wat nie bestaan het nie.

Die tweede ding wat hulle probeer restoureer het is die Koninkryk Nou teologie, die idee dat ons die wêreld vir Jesus gaan oorwin en dat ons Sy koninkryk gaan oprig voordat Hy kan terugkeer. Met ander woorde, Jesus se Wederkoms is afhanklik van ons en ons beweging. Dit is nie afhanklik van Christus as sulks nie en ook nie van God se profetiese plan waarvan Israel en die Jode die hoofrol spelers is nie, dit is afhanklik van ons beweging! Baie mense propageer dit: Roger Forster, Terry Virgo, Gerald Coates. In Amerika is daar Kevin Connor en Rick Godwin. Dit is wat hulle leer, maar waar is die herlewing?

Daar is nie ‘n Hel nie?

Ek glo dat Bybelse gelowige Christene moet saam staan om Jesus Christus te verkondig. Die staptogte vir Jesus lyk na ‘n goeie idee, maar wat maak ons met mense wat hierdie staptogte organiseer en vir mense vertel dat Jesus nie gesterf het om mense van die Hel te red nie omdat daar nie ‘n plek soos die Hel bestaan nie? Mense kan stap waar en wanneer hulle wil maar as hulle dink dat die verlorenis nie in die Hel gaan beland nie moet hulle nie verwag dat God herlewing gaan stuur deur hulle staptogte nie.

Dit is wat Graham Kendrick glo. Die man is ‘n baie goeie liedjie skrywer, maar dit is wat hy glo en verkondig: Daar is nie ‘n plek soos die Hel nie! Dit is wat Roger Forster glo en hulle lei hordes mense met so ‘n filosofie en hulle dink hulle gaan ‘n herlewing bring?

Die Apostel sê: Red jouself van so ‘n krom en verdraaide geslag.” (Hand. 2:40) Hulle weet van die Poel van Vuur wat verewig brand.

Die prediking van Wesley en Spurgeon of enige persoon wat God al ooit gesalf het om herlewing te bring- het gepreek oor die heiligheid van God en die oordeel van diegene wat die Evangelie verwerp. Vandag egter, sê baie leiers daar is nie so plek soos die Hel nie!

Ek het eens op ‘n tyd groot respek gehad vir John Stott. Toe liberalisme sy kroon teologies bereik het hy opgestaan vir die Evangelie en die gesag van die Skrifte. Ek het hom persoonlik gerespekteer maar nie sy Bybelse leer nie. Ek het nie baie gedink van sy preke of boeke nie, maar ek het hom gerespekteer- maar hy vertel vir sy mense daar is nie ‘n plek soos die Hel nie?

Onskriftuurlik.

Dit is die leiers! Hoe gaan- of kan daar ‘n herlewing wees? Dink hierdie mense regtig dat die verval in die samelewing gestop gaan word? Dink hulle regtig dit gaan verbeter met uitvindsels van mense en ‘n valse eenheid? Charismania, Kingdom Now teologie, Restourasie denke of die Ekumeniese denke? Dink hulle dit is wat ‘n herlewing gaan bring!

Die Kingdom Now beweging is al meer as 16 jaar met ons. Ek het onlangs na ‘n video gekyk oor wat gebeur het in die Dokke Arena. Ons weet almal wat met Mnr. Wimber en sy Kansas City Profete gebeur het. Hulle het geprofeteer van ‘n groot herlewing wat sou gekom in Oktober 1990.

Hy het gesê: “Ons is Joël se krygsmag.” ‘n Ander profeet het gesê: “Ons gaan vir ‘n 100% akkuraatheid- niks van hierdie Woord van God sal faal nie.” Wat hy gesê het is dat hy die Woord van God gebring het en dit sou 100% so gebeur. “Ek gee nie om wat enige iemand sê nie, julle gaan ‘n herlewing en ‘n besoek sien.” Dit was ‘n hele paar jaar terug, maar in die laaste 10 jaar, was daar ‘n herlewing? Wat sien ons? Meer moskees en dobbelhuise word gebou as kerke!

Ek gooi nie klippe na iemand of oordeel mense so motiewe nie, ek glo dat baie mense wat in hierdie dinge gevang word dit goed bedoel. Ek glo daar is mense wat met reg baie bekommerd is oor die dinge wat gebeur, mense wat werklik Jesus wil sien, maar die Duiwel weet van hulle goeie intensies daarom sit hy hulle in ‘n doodloop straat.

As ons na die leer van Kenneth Copeland en Kenneth Hagin kyk, na die Raam dit en Eis dit Voorspoed beweging, dan sien ons dit is hulle eie uitvindsels uit hulle eie boeke. E.W. Kenyon proklameer: “Jesus het nie aan die kruis die oorwinning vir ons behaal nie, Hy het dit gedoen toe Hy in die Hel afgedaal het.” Dit is wat hulle glo! Die kruis is nie die kern van hulle teologie nie. Maar kyk hoe aanvaarbaar is dit onder die mense wat hierdie mense op die planke hou en hulle ore laat streel met sulke strooi!

Wat gebeur? Oral is hulle besighede besig om bankrot te speel, die beloftes wat hulle gemaak het kan hulle nie nakom nie. Hulle staptogte en aansprake- “Nou is die tyd vir ons om te beweeg, ons bou ‘n koninkryk van krag en nie van woorde nie.” Maar dit werk nie, waar is die “krag”. Hoekom werk dit nie? Dit is onskriftuurlik!

Mense soos Rick Godwin en David Shearman het seminare gehou soos- “Training for Raining” met dinge soos: “Dankie Here dat U koninkryk met krag en mag voort beweeg”, maar wie se koninkryk is dit? Satan s’n?

Ten minste een derde van die land se jongmense gaan in tronke beland, net ‘n handjie vol mense gaan nog Sondae kerk toe, die meeste van hulle is nie eers Christene nie! Meer Moskees word gebou as kerke! Hinduïsme, Islam, New Age word in die skole geleer. Kinders word geleer hoe om kondome te gebruik! Wie se koninkryk is besig om kragvol op te gaan?

Hierdie mense mag miskien eerbaar in hulle motiewe en intensies wees, maar dit is nie waaroor dit gaan nie, dit wat hulle leer is ‘n groot probleem, is dit Skriftuurlik?

Wat is die Antwoord?

Petrus sê dit wat op Pinkster gebeur het is ‘n skaduwee van wat aan die einde van die wêreld gaan gebeur. Hy het nie gesê ‘dit is dit nie’, in Grieks is dit- “hierdie is soos dit”. (Hand. 2:16) Daar was tekens van bloed en vuur en rook soos in Joël 2, maar dit het nie op Pinkster gebeur nie. Op ‘n manier is dit wat gebeur het ‘n skaduwee van wat aan die einde weer gaan gebeur. Wat in daardie tyd gebeur het vertel vir ons wat aan die einde gaan gebeur. Weereens, aan die einde gaan ons ‘n klein Kerk liggaam sien wat verraai en baie bang gaan wees met vreesbevange leiers wat nie gesalf is nie.

Die sentrale teologie van die Kingdom Now, Manifest Sons of God of die Joël’s Leer, is almal dieselfde. Hulle is betrokke in wat geken word as Gnostisisme. In plaas daarvan om met ‘n Bybel teks te deel in wat dit eksegeties sê word daar in die Skrifte dinge ingelees wat nie daar staan nie met die idee dat dit wat hulle preek ‘n soort van openbarings kennis is, dinge word oor Joël se leërmag gesê wat nie daar staan nie.

Die Woord van die Here deur Joël.

Joël is ‘n profeet wat baie min of basies niks oor sy tyd geprofeteer het nie, hy profeteer byna eksklusief oor die einde van die wêreld. Ons weet hy het begin profeteer aan die begin van die Babiloniese ballingskap of net voor dit, en hy praat van die leërmagte van Babilon, kyk waaroor gaan dit.

“Blaas die basuin op Sion, en blaas alarm op my heilige berg! Laat al die inwoners van die land bewe, want die dag van die HERE kom, want hy is naby—(Hierdie is ‘n eskatologiese verklaring, dit gaan oor die einde van die wêreld.)

-- 'n dag van duisternis en donkerheid, 'n dag van wolke en wolkenag; soos die môreskemering, uitgesprei oor die berge, kom 'n talryke en magtige volk, wat van oudsher sy gelyke nie gehad het nie en dit hierna ook nie sal hê tot in die jare van die verste geslagte nie. Voor hom uit verteer 'n vuur, en agter hom brand 'n vlam; voor hom lyk die land soos die tuin van Eden, en agter hom is dit 'n woeste wildernis; ook kan niks daaraan ontkom nie.” (Joël 2:1-3)

(Joël praat van dinge in sy tyd, oor Nebukadnésar se Babiloniese krygsmag maar hy sê dit gaan oor die einde van die wêreld) Die Koninkryk Nou mense sê dit is hulle, hulle beweging, maar kyk wat gebeur met hierdie krygsmag:

“Maar selfs nou nog, spreek die HERE, bekeer julle tot My met julle hele hart, en met vas en geween en rouklag. En skeur julle hart en nie julle klere nie, en bekeer julle tot die HERE julle God; want Hy is genadig en barmhartig, lankmoedig en groot van goedertierenheid, en Een wat berou het oor die onheil; wie weet of dit Hom nie weer sal berou nie...” (Joël 2:12-14a)

Met ander woorde, Joël sê as sy mense hulle bekeer sal God hierdie krygsmag terugroep, maar kyk verder wat gebeur met hierdie leërmag:

“Ja, Ek sal die sprinkaanswerm, uit die noorde afkomstig, van julle af wegjaag en dit wegdrywe na 'n dor en woeste land; sy voorhoede na die Oostelike See en sy agterhoede na die Westelike See toe. En sy stank sal opstyg, en 'n slegte reuk uit hom opgaan; want hy het alte groot dinge gedoen.” (Joël 2:20) God Self gaan hierdie krygsmag vernietig en John Wimber sê dit is hy, in die werklikheid beteken dit hy sê: “Ons is die sprinkane!”

“En Ek sal julle vergoed die jare wat die treksprinkaan, die voetganger, die kaalvreter en die afknyper verslind het--my groot leërmag wat Ek teen julle gestuur het.” (Joël 2:25)

Hierdie krygsmag is God se leërmag, maar Nebukadnésar se Babiloniese krygsmag is ‘n bose leërmag!

Wat ons sien is die manier waarop God Sy mense oordeel en soos dit nog altyd is bring God ‘n bose mag, ‘n bose leërmag, in hierdie geval, teen hulle om hulle te dwing om tot bekering te kom. God het nog altyd met Israel op hierdie manier gedeel, dit is die konteks! Dit is Bose leërmag wat God Self gaan vernietig en dit is waarop die hele Koninkryk Nou beweging se filosofie gebou is!

Herroeping van oordeel.

Maar wat gebeur te midde van al hierdie voorspellings van dood en verwoesting?

“En daarna sal Ek my Gees uitgiet op alle vlees, en julle seuns en julle dogters sal profeteer, julle ou mense drome droom, julle jongelinge gesigte sien. En ook op die diensknegte en op die diensmaagde sal Ek in dié dae my Gees uitgiet.” (Joël 2 :28-29)

As daar bekering en ‘n terugkeer na God is, dan stort God Sy Gees uit en herroep Sy oordele.

Dit is die sleutel na Die SALWING

Dit is die SLEUTEL wat die Koninkryk Nou mense moet bekom, wat hulle onskriftuurlike beloftes nie kan lewer nie.

Dit is die SLEUTEL wat die Ekumeniese Beweging moet bekom, wat hulle onskriftuurlike beloftes nie kan lewer nie.

Dit is die SLEUTEL wat die Voorspoed geloof mense moet bekom, wat hulle onskriftuurlike beloftes nie kan lewer nie.

Dit is die SLEUTEL wat die Charismatiese mense moet bekom, wat hulle onskriftuurlike beloftes nie kan lewer nie.

Die Kerk is nie Joël se krygsmag nie, Joël se krygsmag is dit wat die kerk oordeel. As ons ons bekeer en terugkeer na die Woord van die Here, dan sal God Sy oordeel herroep en Sy Gees op ons uitstort.

DIT IS DIE SLEUTEL!

Dit is wat in die vroeë Kerk gebeur het en dit is wat vandag gebeur. Ons is verraai, ons is min en ons is vreesbevange, ons leiers is bang en ons is sonder ‘n Salwing, alles is besig om in duie te stort.

Daar is net een hoop- Of ons bekeer ons of ons sterf in ons sonde! God seën julle.

James Jacob Prasch.

J.P Moriel / 09 / 2012/ vertaal


By David Passmore May 30, 2026
Staying The Course Amidst Isolation Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Living in Israel one gets the feeling that the metaphorical walls are closing in. Israel's reputation is being tarnished all over social media and the mainstream media, and this is reflected in massive public disdain towards this country. We are constantly told that there is near consensus amongst academics and commentators that a genocide was committed in Gaza. The very legitimacy of the state is brought into question. The majority of Americans are now hostile towards Israel. There is real fear that the next U.S. administration will turn against Israel. Even if this were to happen passively, by the U.S. refraining from exercising its veto power towards Security Council Resolutions condemning Israeli actions this could be catastrophic. Internally it is a fractured society leaning increasingly right wing which further alienates Israel from world opinion. An example in point is how Ben Gvir mocked the most recent participants of a global aid flotilla to Gaza. Such conduct further agitates outrage at Israel. The left-wing media presents the ruins of Gaza as a mortal wound in Israel's side. When the world observes this level of carnage no degree of public relations can ameliorate the sense of indignation towards Israel. We can liken the situation of Israel to that of a depressed person. All he sees is hopelessness and gloom. But this isn't the first time that the Jewish nation has been faced with such darkness. Things change and we don't know how the geo-political map will reconfigure in the future. We need to ride out this storm and keep going. On a historical note, the situation is reminiscent of what our ancestors faced when we returned from the Babylonian exile to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was faced with constant lies and conspiracies designed to entrap him by hostile actors: Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab. They employed deception, slander and ridicule in order to maintain their political eminence. There was also a certain sense of abandonment amongst the Jews in Israel then as in our own day. We read in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah about the anguish of the leadership in Israel concerning the lack of assistance from the Babylonian diaspora towards the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the Temple. Only 20% of the exiles returned to the land. It was largely the poor who returned. Most of the affluent, established Jews remained in Exile. This is a continuing theme in Jewish history. It is also important to observe that from its very beginnings there were bible believing Christians who spearheaded the return of the Jews to their land. The idea of organizing a return of the Jews to Israel began as a Protestant Restorationist objective that can be traced to 17th century Puritan England. The protagonists of the Cromwellian Republic viewed themselves as the new Israel fighting the Papist forces of Satan. Alongside this, interest grew in the notion that biblical prophecies pertaining to the return of the Jews to Israel were a necessary precursor for the return of Christ. The growth of the British Empire in the 19th century lent political clout to Christian Restorationism with specific missions to the Jews established. Although there had been a longing to return to Israel as written in the thrice daily Amidah prayer, Jewish Zionism arose in the midst of mid nineteenth century nationalism and was further fermented by European antisemitism. It was an altogether secular enterprise. Although Israel's situation appears rather stark, we can draw strength from the Providence afforded to our ancestors in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah when they too were faced with defamation. This is also an opportunity to grow closer to our natural allies in the evangelical world who from the beginning of Zionism were steadfast supporters of the project to establish a Jewish homeland in Israel.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore May 25, 2026
Signs of the Times Tony Pearce ‍ ‍ Left, right or center – is our democracy in danger “Things fall apart, the center does not hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.” W.B Yeats ‘The Second Coming. ’ ‍ ‍ Labour’s losses in the council elections and the battle for succession to their unpopular leader Kier Starmer have raised the possibility that we may soon have our seventh Prime Minister in ten years. Local elections saw Reform and the Greens make sweeping gains, leading Green Party leader, Zack Polanski to say that we are seeing ‘the end of the old two party system’. Maybe we are. In which case what comes next? Will we head to the far left, the far right or will the center hold on to power? Or will it end with ungovernable chaos as unqualified people take control of local and national government? Behind all this there are fundamental questions, ‘What is government for? Who does it represent and where is it going?’ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ According to the Bible (Romans 13) the purpose of government is to promote good and restrain evil. The government has the right to raise taxes for the common good of society and people should pay them. In 1 Timothy 2 Paul encourages us to pray for the government that ‘we may live a godly and peaceable life’. In other words, pray that the government will create an orderly and peaceful society and not interfere with our right to set up communities that teach and preach the Word of God. The situation becomes more difficult when we see government promoting things which are harmful and restraining things which are good and clamping down on freedom of speech with a threat to our ability to live a ‘godly and peaceable life’ ‍ Since becoming a Christian in my early twenties, I have wrestled with the question of how our faith applies to contemporary political issues. I started this quest on the left politically after leaving university and working as an English teacher with sympathies for Marxism. I then became a born again Christian in 1970, and joined my late wife Nikki in evangelizing the radical left, by handing out leaflets at their marches and demonstrations in London and attending their meetings to discuss matters of faith and politics with them. ‍ ‍‍ ‍ We had some good discussions with people and hope we made some consider the Christian alternative. However as we looked at Marxism from a Christian point of view and its practice in Communist countries, we understood that behind this ideology there is a strong anti-christian spirit. It denies the existence of God and promotes the idea of human perfectibility by our own effort. This is exemplified in the words of the Internationale, the socialist battle hymn, ‘No saviour from on high delivers, no faith have we in prince or peer, our own right hand the chains will shiver, chains of hatred, greed and fear.’ This Antichrist spirit led to the persecution of Christians in the Communist countries of eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and China. Far from creating the socialist paradise on earth that Lenin wrote about in ‘Socialism and Religion’, it created a society ruled by hatred, greed and fear, controlled by secret police, prison camps and responsible for the death of millions. ‍ ‍ In western society we have witnessed the growth of ‘cultural Marxism’ a movement aimed at infiltrating and changing society from within, rather than fomenting the workers’ revolution. Labour’s Fabian Society, with its (now discarded) logo of the wolf in sheep’s clothing, has been engaged in this process since the beginning of the 20th century. Social change really took off with the permissive society in the 1960s, which succeeded in changing traditional values, especially in the area of sex and the family. It replaced biblical values with a new ‘morality’ that is fundamentally anti Christian. These ideas have permeated large swathes of our society including the education system, the judiciary, the Civil Service, much of the media, mainstream political parties (including even the Conservative ‘wets’ and parts of the established church). ‍ ‍ Melanie Phillips describes the results of this in her book, ‘The Builder’s Stone.’ ‘Having decided that the West was rotten to the core, western elites set out to create a new culture that would usher in the brotherhood of man and eradicate hatred, prejudice, and war. Their Brave New World junked biblical religion with all its constraints on behaviour and revolved instead around self gratification. Everybody had the right to live as they wanted; nobody could say that their way of life was better or worse than anyone else’s; no one had the right to say that their culture was better than any other culture. That was ‘racism.’ At the heart of all this was the doctrine that there was no such thing as objective truth. Everything was relative; everything was a matter of opinion. Because there was no truth feelings became more important than facts. So the West abandoned the codes of morality, conscience, truth and lies, personal responsibility, and duty to others in favour of a culture of the self. In the process it junked its inherited traditions and biblical codes on which western culture was based.’ ‍ Britain changed from being a society that respected values based on the 10 Commandments and the teaching of Jesus Christ to one that discarded them for relative values. Ideas of ‘diversity, inclusion and equity’ became the norm, together with and a form of ‘tolerance’, that is really very intolerant if you oppose it. This ‘tolerance’ means accepting the virtues of multiculturalism and humanism and believing that all gods are equally valid or true (or none are). We must also accept that all lifestyles and family arrangements including homosexual and transsexual ones are just as valid as traditional two parent heterosexual families, with a father and mother committed to each other in lifelong matrimony looking after their own children. ‍ As society accepts this radical change in how we view culture, morality and religion, we are told not to criticize other cultures and world views or imply that they are anything less than equal to the culture, morality and faith derived from the Bible. ‍ All this has not improved society. Instead we have a collapse of values with no central idea to hold it together, just a group of competing ‘communities’ which are often only united in opposition to the traditional values and culture of Great Britain. A good example of this is the ‘red – green alliance’ of radical leftists and Islamists who come together to denounce Israel and campaign to ‘globalise the Intifada’. In practice this means a world wide war against Israel and Judaeo-Christian society and a desire to replace it with their version of either Islamism or Communism. However if one of them were to come to power, you can be sure that the Islamist’s would get rid of the leftists or vice versa. In fact that happened in Iran’s 1979 revolution, when Islamist supporters of Khomeini and Communists came together to get rid of the Shah. Then the Islamists seized power, turned on the Communists and wiped them out. ‍ Alisteir Heath wrote in the Daily Telegraph: ‘Ruined by decades of political vandalism, the Britain we knew and loved, a land of stability, pragmatism, and ancient freedoms, is no more. Today’s UK is uglier, impoverished, volatile and disorderly. We’ve lost our level-headedness. Anger and frustration have become our defining emotions. Our institutions have wasted away, and we have been taught to despise our history. The decline of family, community and faith have led to alienation, dependence on welfare and the rise of novel ideologies, mostly secular but also sectarian, turbocharged by social media. While the state becomes unnervingly authoritarian, the air reeks of insurrection and every variety of extremism. The British public’s sense of betrayal is as well-founded as it is dangerous. The machinery of state is incompetent and self-serving, a vehicle for social engineering in the global interest.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ Criticism of this process now risks being classed as ‘hate crime’ with a growing authoritarian society monitoring social media posts and public teaching of alternative ideas in ways which risk shutting down free speech in our society. A Christian teacher Enoch Burke is currently in prison in Dublin after he was suspended from his job and jailed after refusing to accept and teach transgenderism in the school. ‍ ‍ ‍ Nick Timothy, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, got into trouble when he questioned mass Muslim prayer in Trafalgar Square. He wrote: ‘Mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination. The adhan – which declares there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger – is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination. The domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook.” He is right in this. Allah hu Akhbar actually means Allah is greater, greater than your God, Muhammad is greater than Jesus and the Koran is greater than the Bible. ‍ ‍ ‍ Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern for our Nation wrote: “The fact that we have mass Islamic prayer in Trafalgar Square at all is indicative of the massive culture change that we have seen in the last few decades. A culture change that was not voted for or ever agreed to by the British people. And, a culture change that can hardly be described as having been entirely beneficial to our culture as a whole. I only need to mention grooming gangs involving mostly Pakistani Muslim men , sharia courts, honour crimes, terror attacks, the assassination of an MP, an attempt to blockade Parliament, mass antisemitic marches through London, a convicted terrorist standing for local elections, sectarianism, and many other examples to make the point. Earlier this month, the Government gave Muslims special protection with the adoption of an official definition of anti-Muslim hostility .” ‍ ‍ ‍ You are not really supposed to question this in public life today. A message circulating on social media is an apt commentary on all this. ‘First they overlook evil, then they permit evil, then they legalise evil, then they promote evil, then celebrate evil, then persecute those who call it evil.’ Soviet dissident Solzhenitsyn wrote: ‘A Communist system can be recognised by how it spares criminals and criminalises its opponents.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ The root cause of all this is the rejection of God and biblical values. The 18th-century French philosopher Joseph de Maistre coined the phrase "people get the government they deserve." David Pawson followed up on this idea, arguing that in democratic societies like ours, the moral and spiritual condition of a nation's citizens is directly reflected in the leaders they elect. If the general public abandons moral truths, they will inevitably vote for governments that reflect those same compromises. David Pawson taught that God may use governmental leadership to judge or bless a nation, depending on the people's obedience. He noted that Hebrew prophets saw wicked rulers as a form of divine judgement on a society that has strayed from God's laws. Therefore a nation's ultimate hope rests on repentance rather than just political change. His conclusion is that Christians should actively stand for moral truth in society. He believed that the church is meant to influence culture upward, and that a decline in national morality inevitably leads to deteriorating governance. ‍ ‍ ‍ Sadly much of the church today has become the ‘salt that has lost its savour’ through compromise with antichristian forces in society and government. It may be too late to save our country and western democracy as social and economic pressures create a collapse of democracy and push us either towards anarchy or dictatorship. ‍ ‍ ‍ Yeats’ poem quoted at the beginning of this article ends with the enigmatic line ‘Some rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.’ Most likely he is referring to the coming anti-Messiah who is labelled the Beast in the book of Revelation. Many believe his is now waiting in the wings to replace the true Messiah (born in Bethlehem) and bring in the dictatorship prophesied in Revelation 13. The Bible indicates that the Beast or Antichrist will have power for a moment, but it will be short lived and doomed to destruction at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Messiah and He shall reign forever and ever (Revelation 11.15) and the ‘government shall be on His shoulder’ (Isaiah 9.6). ‍ ‍ ‍ Maranatha come Lord Jesus. ‍ ‍ ‍ Water, water nowhere and not a drop to drink. (Apologies to the Ancient Mariner) ‍ ‍‍ ‍ While nations worry about supply of oil and gas as a result of the war in the Gulf and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a much more vital commodity for human survival is water. And it is in short supply in a growing number of nations. ‍ ‍ As of 2026, over 25 countries face extremely high water stress, with the most severe crises located in the Middle East and North Africa. This region is home to the world's most water-stressed nations, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, and Libya. India and Pakistan face critical water scarcity due to overexploitation of aquifers and population density. Much of Africa , Somalia and Ethiopia in particular are facing severe shortages due to drought and climate change. Mexico and parts of the United States (particularly Texas and the west coast) are experiencing significant water shortages and declining groundwater levels. ‍ ‍ ‍ Iran is facing a severe, multi-year water crisis as of May 2026, with major cities like Tehran, Mashhad, and Karaj approaching the point where taps could run dry due to depleted reservoirs. Groundwater is depleted across most of the country, and nineteen provinces are experiencing severe drought. The crisis is driven by a combination of climate change and decades of poor water management, including excessive dam construction and inefficient, water-intensive agriculture. China is facing a severe, multi-faceted water crisis defined by extreme scarcity in the north, widespread pollution, and mismanagement, threatening its food supply and economic growth. ‍ ‍ ‍ Several countries are significantly affected by upstream dam construction that reduces downstream water flow, causing, environmental, and diplomatic crises. These countries include Iraq, heavily impacted by dams built on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by Turkey and Iran, leading to reduced water for agriculture, destruction of forests, and increased sandstorms. Egypt and Sudanface significant water security risks due to the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laosare affected of dams built by China on the upper Mekong River ‍ ‍ One country which bucks this trend is Israel. Israel manages its water resources by transforming a chronic shortage into a surplus through large-scale desalination, extensive wastewater recycling, and a centralised national water carrier system. The agriculture sector has shifted away from freshwater, using treated effluent instead. Advanced drip irrigation technologies are widely used to minimise waste. Israel has exported its water technologies to countries around the world, particularly Africa where it has given advice on how to use limited water resources to great effect. ‍ ‍ ‍ Without water no society on earth can survive. Bible prophecies indicate that water shortage and pollution will be a global problem in the last days. Most obviously no water equals no food, so famine is an inevitable result of water shortages. Jesus warned of this as a sign of the last days in Matthew 24.7. Revelation 8.10-11 speaks of something called ‘Wormwood’ falling on rivers and springs of water causing it to become bitter and many to die from drinking it. ‍ ‍ Prophecy speaks of the two great rivers of the ancient world, the Nile and the Euphrates, being affected by a crisis causing the Euphrates to dry up (Revelation 16.12) and the Nile to become contaminated and its waters turn foul (Isaiah 19.5-11). Isaiah 24 speaks of a curse devouring the earth in the last days causing the earth to be ‘defiled (or polluted) under its inhabitants.’ ‍ ‍ ‍ According to the New Scientist, there are massive amounts of water hidden deep beneath the Earth's surface. Scientists have found evidence of a reservoir of water three times the volume of all surface oceans combined, located roughly 250–400 miles underground within the mantle. ‍ ‍ ‍ It may be that the Lord will release this water to replenish and clean up the earth in the Millennial kingdom when ‘waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.’ Isaiah 35. Zechariah 14.8-9 says, ‘In that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.’ Zechariah 14.8-9. See also Ezekiel 47. ‍ Rethinking Russia ‍ Things are not going well for Vladimir Putin in his ‘special military operation’. Four years after invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia is not making advances and actually losing ground. Russia is losing as many as 25,000- 35,000 casualties a month and over 1.2 million have been killed and wounded since the war began. Ukrainian skills in drone warfare have destroyed large quantities of Russian equipment, tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery and rocket systems, helicopters, and naval vessels. ‍ ‍ Russia is spending an estimated 40% of the entire federal budget on the war effort. As a result of this and western sanctions, Russia is increasingly unable to fix chronic infrastructure problems at home. During the bitter Russian winter thousands of people were left without heat, light, or even water. All forms of transport, trains, trucks and planes, are facing logistical problems, making it difficult to transport goods and people across the vast Russian regions. Russia is on the way to an infrastructure collapse that will likely take decades to recover. ‍ ‍ Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov warned the State Duma that Russia's faltering economy risks stoking a 1917-style revolution. He demanded urgent financial and economic measures by autumn to avert a potential economic collapse. This raises the danger of the Russian Federation fracturing. The Caucuses are restive, the far east is looking to China and Siberia is facing an acute problem as a result of melting permafrost, causing buildings, bridges and pipelines to collapse. ‍ ‍ In the present circumstances it is hard to see how Russia could lead the Gog and Magog invasion of Israel (Ezekiel 38-39). Some have said that it is more likely that Turkey is the lead power in the War of Gog and Magog. They say that Meshech and Tubal are not Moscow and Tobolsk, but regions of modern Turkey. Erdogan’s Turkey is backed by an Islamist world view hostile to Israel, seeking the recovery of its Ottoman Empire. He has his eyes on taking control of Jerusalem. Turkey is possession of a large land army already stationed in the region, some of it occupying part of Syria. ‍ ‍ The alternative is that the War of Gog and Magog is some way off, possibly part of Armageddon, giving time for Russia to recover from its present distress. We wait and see, but meanwhile spare a thought and a prayer for the people of Ukraine and Russia, suffering as a result of Putin’s futile war, oppressed by his corrupt dictatorship and facing an economic and social collapse caused by his failed policies. ‍ ‍
By David Passmore May 25, 2026
Trump's Visit with Xi Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM The tempest path of Sino-U.S. tensions came to a head during Trump's first term in office with the outbreak of Covid. Many commentators believed that the deterioration in relations was in terminal decline and that a major confrontation in the straits of Taiwan was fast looming. Trump held China responsible for the spread of Covid, insisting that he would pursue reparations. The election of Biden halted this commitment. Biden sought a non-confrontational policy towards Beijing. In the aftermath of the disastrous premature withdrawal from Afghanistan handing that country over to the Taliban and the Russian invasion of Ukraine under his watch, Biden became too preoccupied to assertively engage with China. Chinese State media portrayed Trump's visit as being rather unremarkable in the context of other foreign dignitaries lining up to meet Xi, pointing out that just a week later Putin would arrive in Beijing. China manifests that it is winning the trade war that Trump began in 2018, beating America at its own game of capitalism. They frame the U.S. as being in a position of weakness because China is able to source whatever products they buy from the U.S. elsewhere like oil from Canada, and soybeans from Brazil. The oil, soybeans and 200 Boeing's Xi agreed to purchase from Trump were presented as a mere gesture to placate Trump as China has already bought 350 Air Buses in the last year. China would have the world believe that it is only semi-conductors where America has the edge. Here China hints that it is not likely to buy H200 Invidia Chips because it would mean that China will always lag behind the U.S. in building their AI tech. China's major contention and concern is that the U.S. may impose export controls to contain China. China's strategy instead is to invest massively on indigenous innovation. China wants to become an innovation powerhouse that will export its own Chips to the Global South. China is fast catching up with America's lead in AI with the launch of Deep Seek and they claim similar progress with Chip making. China is now ostensibly only eight months behind the U.S. on Large Language Models. Running contrary to this narrative Trump insists that China is desperate to trade with America. China's economy has now peaked. Emblematic of this stagnating growth is rising youth unemployment. China is no longer America's biggest trading partner. Trump has shifted manufacturing back to the U.S. and Trump believes that China can't revive its economy without America. Lined up to meet Xi with Trump were the heads of some of America's biggest Tech Corporations. Corporations like nvidia seek a relaxing of export controls for Chips as they want short term profits, ignoring the risk that China will reverse engineer this technology. More broadly, China and the U.S. are playing a geopolitical chess game spanning the globe. Trump outmaneuvered China in Latin America with the removal of Maduro from power in Venezuela. China is exploiting its influence on Iran in order to get Trump to refrain from taking more active steps towards the defense of Taiwan. Indeed, Trump didn't say anything about Taiwan during his visit. Trump's instincts are of a transactional approach towards alliances, where he is only willing to underwrite defense assistance if allies pay up as an insurer would. It is also important to note that saber rattling the Taiwan card also serves the CCP agenda to distract internal dissent concerning the state of the Chinese economy. Most imminently Trump needs China to pressure Iran to open the Straits of Hormuz and get oil prices down before the midterm elections. China has largely insulated itself from the Gulf energy impact due to stockpiles. Trump would also like China to stop providing Iran with GPS for its missiles. Other Chinese weapons systems and technology sold to Iran have failed to perform well against U.S. and Israeli military hardware. Matters boil down to a leverage between whatever Trump can do on Taiwan, China can do on the strait of Hormouz with Iran. Human Rights concerns, espionage and the alarming rate of Chinese acquisition of U.S. land have been placed on the back burner for the time being.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore May 17, 2026
Moriel & Jacob Prasch request prayer for Phil Malone and family “Please keep me and my family in prayer. My mum passed away on 13th May at the age of 93. It's a time of mourning, but may it be a time for the Gospel of Christ to be preached to my unbelieving family, especially my brother.”
By Mea Fredrickson May 13, 2026
Moriel & Jacob Prasch request prayer for Sister Joanne Rizzetto, wife of Pastor Dave Rizzetto of Church of The Open Door in New York City. Joanne has developed painful complications and adverse side effects from medications following knee surgery. May The Lord intervene for healing and give guidance to her physicians. Lord, we humbly ask you to intervene in the life of our dear sister. We know you can do all things and that you hear our prayers and consider your servants. Please put a stop to the adverse reaction. Restrain and reverse its effects and restore our sister so that she can continue to serve you in the ministry that you have called them to. We do glorify Your Name. We don't ask as those who treat you as our debtor, but as those who have tasted your goodness and found such mercy and compassion at your feet. Grace and peace and mercy be with Joanne and Pastor Dave.
By David Passmore May 5, 2026
Will Lebanon miss its golden opportunity? Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Converging new facts on the ground have transformed the political landscape in Lebanon. With Assad removed from power in Syria, a vital lifeline of arms supplies for Hezbollah originating in Iran has diminished. Hezbollah suffered considerable losses in its last round of fighting with Israel. The decapitation of its leadership with the targeted pager attack inflicted a severe blow. Hezbollah's new leader Naim Qassem is a weak substitute for the charismatic Nasrallah who was assassinated by Israel in 2024. Hezbollah in its frail state foolishly fell into line with Iran's instruction to join the fighting against Israel following the recent American-Israeli war with Iran. This was contrary to the wishes of the Lebanese government which was fearful of the inevitable destruction that would be wreaked by the Israeli response. The differing attitudes to Israel amongst Lebanon's population is reflective of its ethnic composition. The predominant groups in order of plurality are Christians, Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims with a smaller minority of Druze. The major concern of most Christians in Lebanon is the dire state of their economy. They have no appetite to further their plight by invoking Israel's rage. During the colonial inter war period the French envisaged the demarcation between Lebanon and Syria as carving out enclaves for Christian and Druze control. Within Lebanon there would be a shared government that by convention would have the Executive power split between a Christian President, a Sunni Prime Minister and Shia Speaker of Parliament. The Christians in southern Lebanon (particularly Maronite Catholics) saw themselves as being anthropologically descendants of ancient Phoenicians as opposed to an Arab identity where the Arab Christians were largely Eastern Orthodox. The schism between the Maronites and the Arab Eastern Orthodox dates back to the time of the Crusades. The Maronites were culturally French, speaking French as their main language and held precedence in much of the Lebanese economy. The first threat to Lebanese stability and cohesion was settled by the U.S. Eisenhower administration in 1958 which landed Marines in an amphibious operation. A repeated attempt at this by the Reagan administration in 1983 ended in a military disaster for the U.S. due to suicide bombings by Iranian controlled terrorists. Israeli efforts to bring in stability during the Lebanese Civil War in conjunction with its Lebanese Christian allies led by Major Saad Haddad likewise came to calamity when the Sabra and Shatila revenge attacks took place following the assassination of Lebanese leader Bashir Gemayel. The ''Good Fence'' policy of an Israeli friendly free Lebanon zone in Southern Lebanon eventually ended badly following Menachem Begin's second incursion into Lebanon called ''Shalom HaGalil'' aimed at stopping the PLO rocket attacks on Israeli border communities like Metulla, Kiryat Shmona, Naharya, Rosh Hanikra, Tzfat and Carmiel. The proxy Israeli occupation from the Israeli border to the Litani river became an imbroglio that many in Israel viewed as Israel's Vietnam with widespread domestic protest and a collapse of morale within the IDF. Eventually Israel absorbed Christian war refugees from Lebanon, while the Vatican and most of the Christian world turned their backs on the Lebanese Christians. Lebanon was then saddled with two states within a state. The first was in the aftermath of Black September in 1970 when King Hussein of Jordan defended his Hashemite throne and government from Yasser Arafat's attempt to take over Jordan due to Jordan having a 70% Palestinian Arab demographic majority. The Jordanian legion drove tens of thousands of its pro Arafat Jordanian citizens into Lebanon, creating a population base for the first state within a state under Arafat. However the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and other factions had their niche interests. Courtesy of the Israeli Air Force Arafat relocated what he saw as his government in exile to Tunisia. This was a missed opportunity by the Lebanese government to assert its autonomy and full territorial control by making a Camp David type peace with Israel inclusive of economic and mutual security provisions. Instead an Iranian backed Syrian intervention replaced Arafat's state within a state with a new one that morphed into Hezbollah. The fall of the Assad regime and the Israeli counter-offensive against Hezbollah re-presents Lebanon with the opportunity that it once lost. The predominantly Christian controlled Lebanese military could and should operationally coordinate with the IDF, to obliterate and remove Hezbollah as the Israelis relieved Lebanon of Arafat's state within a state. Such a rapprochement would likely have strong American and possibly French and British support, allowing Lebanon to be at a non-combative peace with Israel along the lines of Egypt and Jordan, and now some of the Emirates. The natural comradery of the Lebanese Druze community with the Israeli Druze and the pro-Israeli Druze of Syria would additionally re-enforce a regional harmony, as would the Maronite Christian community in Israel with their co-coreligionists in Lebanon.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore May 5, 2026
PASTOR JOHN ANGLISS It is with profound sadness that we learned of the temporary separation from our friend and brother Pastor John Angliss. We look forward to being reunited with John in the millennial reign of Christ and indeed in God's Eternal Kingdom. Jacob Prasch visited John a few weeks ago in the UK while John was in hospice care having been diagnosed preterminal in his illness. While medically correct, it was of course a misdiagnosis. John is now cancer free and is alive and well in the presence of Jesus awaiting us in glory while his mortal body is being renewed for resurrection and immortality. In the meanwhile, during this temporary season of bereavement we do request prayer for his beloved wife Mary and for his congregation, The Ark Fellowship in England near Reading, England. Because he has recently arrived in the USA and is scheduled to address the Moriel Canada branch conference in Winnipeg, Jacob Prasch will regrettably not be able to attend the memorial service in Britain. Our condolences however are very much with Mary and our brethren in the UK who like us knew and loved Pastor Angliss. John was one of a minority of faithful voices who upheld a traditional biblically based Pentecostalism in the era of counterfeit revivals and apostasy that overtook most of British Pentecostalism. John was a faithful friend of Israel & The Jews standing on the prophetic purposes of God for Israel and the salvation of the Jews. John was a loyal friend to Moriel and Jacob Prasch and a colleague of David Pawson and Derek Prince, both of whom likewise stood by God's promises to Israel. John was also a founding leader of CMFI - the Christian Ministerial Fellowship International, former pastor of Three Mile Cross fellowship , and former board member of Focus On Israel (a Pentecostal Ministry to the Jews). While this separation is temporary, John's eternal gain will be our temporary loss. O GRAVE - WHERE IS THEY VICTORY, O DEATH WHERE IS THY STING ? Hosea 13:14 / 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57
By David Passmore April 28, 2026
We made it this far: Israel at 78 Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM Since the last anniversary milestone of Israel at 75, we have been embroiled in relentless wars. Citizens had little respite to enjoy this year's festivities, coming on the heels of a lull in fighting on the Iranian and Lebanese fronts. We are constantly waiting for a breakthrough on the horizon that will normalize our relations with our neighbors and secure our position on the world stage. It is acutely exhausting to be the focus of the world's attention. But also there is a sense of inevitability accompanying the Zionist project. Specifically that Israel is destined to be central in the wider region and global affairs. Why is this? Is it due to it being a western transplant? Being geographically positioned on the crossroads of three continents? Religious believers would point to prophetic fulfillment. It is short sighted to only look at how our problems are rooted in today’s' reality. Greater forces are at work that will dictate the direction that Israel is heading. The Jewish diaspora will likely find itself in a growing precarious position that will lead to increasing Aliyah (immigration to Israel) and will perhaps ferment the emergence of a second Jewish commonwealth that will not need to heed international pressure in the same way that todays' polity finds itself doing. In this light it is interesting to ponder how our posterity would view our predicament and gains. And I frame matters in these terms with intentionality. We are enmeshed in a seemingly intractable conflict with the Palestinians, and yet Israel has made great gains particularly in the technological fields. There is a current of thinking that perceives Israel's way out of its quagmire is by making itself indispensable to technological advancements. We don't know how tomorrows' world will be shaped by the rapidly advancing AI revolution but so far Israel has proven to be uniquely adaptable and innovative to technological change. This has proved to be a boon to Israel's economy, as have offshore natural gas discoveries being developed in concert with Greece, Greek Cypriot and American energy interests that are geographically and strategically removed from any Straits of Hormuz shipping impediments that strangle the Persian Gulf deposits shared by Qatar and Iran. On another note we should contextualize the situation. How different are Israel's challenges from other nations? Is Israel any less stable than other countries (particularly in the region)? Israel doesn't find itself uniquely challenged to define its identity (most European countries do also, particularly in light of immigration). Nor does the government experience any more volatility than other comparable democracies. Israel's real problems lay in the nature of how its Jewish citizens desire to govern themselves. It is arguable whether the judicial reform protests that occupied public discourse in pre-October 7th Israel would have led to serious civil strife. But it is without doubt that this impasse was allayed by the external attack. The underlying tensions remain unresolved and there are many ways that they could play out. It has been framed as a battle for Israel's soul. Israel's enemies predict that Zionism is imploding and that the State won't survive another 5-10 years. Supporting this claim, they point to Israel's increasing alienation and growing pariah status on the international stage. Our Prime Minister has been indicted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Even public opinion in our staunchest ally the U.S. has turned sharply against Israel. With 80% of the Democratic Party being anti-Israel in a growing climate of anti-semitism we have even witnessed the shift of Alan Dershowitz to the Republican Party which must be seen as emblematic of a trend. There is apprehension in Israel of a post-Trump America dominated by the Democrats. However, these seeming incontrovertible facts may be offset by other measures of fortitude. This may be partially countered by the high investment by Silicon Valley in the Israeli Hi-tech sector, making Israel an asset for purposes of Research and Development in America's AI race against China. New opportunities for economic relations have also been opened with Arab nations through the Abraham Accords and with the powerhouse India. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine a world in which Israel's technological prowess will not carry the sway of western decision makers in the long run. Israel's 78th anniversary is a moment to take pause and not catastrophize what the future may behold. The entire world is currently in a state of transformation and Israel is not an outlier in this context.  (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).
By David Passmore April 23, 2026
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By David Passmore April 14, 2026
A critical juncture in NATO'S future Rubin Rothler LLB, LLM NATO was originally established in 1949 to keep the Russian hordes at bay from toppling those European countries not forked over to the Soviet sphere of influence at the Potsdam conference. Europe lay in ruins. Britain had passed on the torch of global hegemony to the U.S. by tacitly acquiescing to the decolonization of its Empire when Churchill and Roosevelt agreed terms of the Atlantic Charter for the post-war new world order in 1941. So from its start NATO was very much an American driven endeavor. American money with the Marshall plan was propping up western European economies and its military might was forming the bulk of their defensive capabilities. The lopsided nature of this dynamic has informed how tensions have persisted and recently erupted in the Alliance. During the Cold War the U.S. felt obligated to shoulder the costs of underwriting Europe's security in light of the broader interests to keep the Soviet's in check. Following the fall of the Iron Curtain European complacency became a sticking point with the 'peace dividend' further exploiting American largesse. European NATO allies spent ever smaller percentages of their GDP on defense expenditure at U.S. expense. Now in a multi-polar world U.S. and European perceived threats are less aligned. This was first tested in the aftermath of September 11th when for the first time NATO elected to trigger its article 5 collective defense protocol. And since then the U.S. has sought to continue to expand the traditional theatre of operations beyond Europe's borders. No longer is Russia perceived by America as being a proximate existential threat to its interests, but rather containing Chinese expansion in the Pacific arena. Parallel to NATO a discrete 'five eyes' intelligence sharing alliance comprising the Anglo-sphere (the U.S., U.K., Canada and New Zealand) emerged. This stands at the center of the U.S. – U.K. 'special relationship'. A relevant question would be can this signals intelligence (NSA-GCHQ) partnership persist should the U.S. withdraw from NATO? Conventional thinking would have led one to believe that with Brexit the U.K. would naturally pivot towards closer U.S. relations but under Starmer the U.K. is distancing itself. European powers misrepresent the present conflict as an aggressive, rather than defensive U.S. adventure while they themselves are more likely to be at risk. In this the Starmer government resembles the Labor party led committee for nuclear disarmament in the 1980's. It opposed the Thatcher supported deployment of U.S. cruise missiles in response to the Soviet SS20's pointed at Britain's cities. The British left branded their response to Soviet strategic escalation to U.S. aggression. This time however there is for the moment no Thatcher to bring common sense into an equation dominated by emotionally driven ideologies in the face of an aggressor with definite aims. In terms of the Russian-Ukraine conflict we are reverting to the old question dating back to the Napoleonic war era: to what extent is London happy with the European nations fighting it out alone for dominance of the continent. Britain was never willing to accept a single power in control. Many variables will dictate what kind of world emerges from the current conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. How will power be extracted from potential gains? What will be the strategic impact of this? What is sure, in the age of Trump this pattern of reliance on U.S. muscle is becoming quickly exhausted. Dating back to the Roman Empire, a factor in the decline of major powers has always been astronomical military spending, a budgetary demand that the U.S. under Trump is no longer willing to shoulder alone. (Author is an Israeli American lawyer academically qualified in British and in U.S.A. law, and a graduate of the School of Oriental & African Studies, London. He is a Jewish believer in Jesus and is currently based in Israel).